Gurley is still with the Wildcats in spirit

Sunday

Dec 2, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 2, 2007 at 2:03 AM

Glen Farley

Upon first glance at the final score on the scoreboard at Stonehill College's W.B. Mason Stadium, members of the West Bridgewater High School football team seemed to feel as though they'd let their late teammate down.

Then it suddenly struck them.

Even in defeat, they'd paid tribute to Jose Gurley.

“Jose's always been in our thoughts all year long,” West Bridgewater head coach Bill Panos said following the Wildcats' 16-8 loss to Brighton in Saturday's EMass Div. 4 Super Bowl. “As a matter of fact, when we came over here (for a postgame huddle) I heard the kids say, 'Hey, there's eight points on there for a reason.' Jose's number was No. 8.”

The fact that this would be a football season like no other in the history of West Bridgewater High was predetermined on July 21 when Gurley, a member of the Wildcats' 2006 Super Bowl championship team, was shot and killed while attending a party in Brockton.

“This team has gone through a lot together,” said Shawn Glidden, a captain and two-way standout on the Wildcats. “I'm proud of all of these guys. I wish them the best of luck next year. I'll be here watching them.”

While he spent just one season in the football program, Gurley, who would have been a senior this year, was truly an impact player at West Bridgewater.

“When we first started, he was undoubtedly one of the most athletic kids I've ever been around,” assistant coach Marty Pratt said of Gurley, who also competed in basketball and track and field at the school. “As far as football-wise, (he) didn't know anything. Seriously, he didn't know how to put on his equipment when he came out as a junior. But he was a quick learner. He stayed after practice. And it wasn't like we were asking him to stay after practice. He wanted to and he did it with a smile on his face. He was just a great kid to be around.”

“He worked hard,” Pratt said of the wide receiver-defensive back, “and he worked on everything. He worked on his routes. He worked on his defense. It was fun to watch him learn that quick and, obviously, he was a huge part of our team. He got touchdowns in meaningful games. Nantucket, he got two touchdowns. Without those, we wouldn't have won the league.”

“We pretty much made him play,” said senior Matt Nunes, the Wildcats' quarterback and one of their captains. “He was a great athlete. We told him, 'You're a great athlete. You should play.'

“But when he first came out, he had no idea,” Nunes smiled. “He didn't even know how to spell football.”

Gurley's teammates know how to spell his name.

In tribute to him, the Wildcats spelled out Gurley's name on their wrists and hands.

“Just seeing the kids with Jose's name or their wrists and their knuckles. They put it on their tape,” said Panos. “The first three games, I had tears in my eyes just seeing how much they were missing him. So we couldn't bring him into our thoughts any more than we did.”

Thoughts were on the Brockton resident, who attended West Bridgewater High through the school choice program, straight to the season's conclusion, even after the final whistle had blown on a 10-2 campaign.

The Wildcats huddled around Panos and members of the team's coaching staff on the field near the scoreboard for one last time at game's end. They broke from that huddle by shouting, “One, two, three, Jose.”

“He's all that's on my mind right now,” said Glidden, who was gripped with emotion. “I wanted to win this for him. That's all I wanted to do.”

“Every game, it's felt,” said Pratt, who was also gripped with emotion as he spoke of Gurley. “I think it's felt every day in practice. Every night I go to bed, I can't get him out of my head.”